Organic farmer to sue over GM contamination

An organic farmer in the Great Southern says he will sue the owner of a neighbouring farm, after being stripped of his organic certification because genetically modified canola was found on his property.

Mr Baxter has vowed to defend the allegation and says he will have the backing of multinational biotechnology company Monsanto, which certified his GM crop.

Support

Western Australia's organic farming community has rallied behind Mr Marsh.

The state president of the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Kim Hack, said previously that Mr Marsh has the support of many farmers across the state.

"We're going to back him all the way and he's being backed up by conventional farmers as well," he said.

The Network of Concerned Farmers' Julie Newman also said previously that this case highlighted that GM farmers could face legal action if neighbouring properties are contaminated.

Ms Newman said the State Government had failed to listen to calls for a risk management strategy.

"The GM farmer should be worried because they are ultimately liable and this is an avenue where the non-GM farmer can say right we'll follow this example and we'll do the same and it could be a class action if you're not sure who causes it," she said.

The Agriculture Minister Terry Redman said earlier the government was working with Mr Marsh to try to regain his organic status.

He said while he is confident the incident is a one-off, the department would look at measures to prevent a repeat.

Mr Redman said there are no plans to reinstate a ban on the growing of GM canola.